Enchanted 10k Race Recap 2014

As part of the Glass Slipper Challenge, I participated in the inaugural runDisney Enchanted 10k with my mom.

We were up at 2:45, dressed and ready to get to the busses by 3:45.

The bus line was LONG and a full ten minutes went by with no bus. I had friends at other resorts telling me they had one bus lined up behind the other getting people on so I was a little perturbed that it wasn’t the case at the Boardwalk.

After about 20 minutes we were loaded onto a bus and we met up with Karen and then went to the Team runDisney meet up.

We stayed and chatted a bit before heading over to our corrals (LOVE the short walk to the corrals for the 10k!)

We went to the bathroom, got some water, and sat in our corral for a few minutes chatting with other runners. (Was great to meet so many readers! Thanks for saying hi!)

We were soon ushered up to the starting line, being welcomed to the first ever Enchanted 10k!

We were off, into the darkness, turning left out of the parking lot. Look, it’s Elsa from Frozen! We even had “snow” fall on us.

We kept on trucking, and decided to stop for the bathrooms in the median somewhere between mile 2 and 3. This is where my only annoyance for the race came in, and it was NOT runDisney’s fault.

Let me set the scene: We were out on the 3 lane highway, right before it opens to 4 lanes, and had just stepped off to the left to use the bathrooms. We had run the whole first mile, then walked just once before using the bathroom. We got back onto the road, and decided to walk a few seconds before going right back into running to get our heart rates back up. We were ALL THE WAY on the left side of the road, and the road was empty. (I think we were in between corrals at this point.) Anyway, a girl runs up next to me and starts YELLING at us for being “in the way” and said we need to learn to walk on the correct side of the road. Um….EXCUSE ME? 1.) We were ALL the way to the side 2.) The road was EMPTY so we were in no ones way 3.) Why the heck would we go all the way across 4 lanes of road to walk for 15 more seconds? Wouldn’t that be more of a hazard, cutting straight across people just to get to the right side? If we had been in the middle of the road or the right side we of course would have gone right, but we had jut come out of the left medium where the port-o-potties were. Oy. Anyone who has run a runDisney race before knows that walkers need to get to the side…any side, and that it’s impossible to just be on one side, especially when it’s super crowded. There are people taking walk breaks everywhere, all along the course, and I have no problem with walking as long as you are to the side. I was in shock, and would be lying if I said it didn’t tick me off for most of the race. Just to give you an idea of HOW EMPTY it was, as soon as I got over the shock of how rude this chick was, I took a picture to show how “in the way”’ we clearly were of all the traffic.

Seriously. SERIOUSLY? Why ruin someone else’s race like that? I just don’t understand the mean spiritedness some people have in them. I would be lying if I didn’t notice every single person walking on BOTH sides of the road during the race after that. If I stressed that woman out when there was no crowds, she probably had a heart attack the rest of the race. Sigh. Ok, moving on.

We made it to mile three, and started the turn towards EPCOT. The boys were supposed to wake up and go downstairs below our room and watch us run by, so I started texting my dad when we got to EPCOT.

We made it around the World Showcase, and out to the Boardwalk. I let the boys know we were close, and sure enough there they were! We stopped for quick sweaty hugs and were on our way again. We made it all the way around, and were heading back into EPCOT. We were almost done! Mom was doing a great job, and I kept telling her we were close and to just hang on a little longer.

It was starting to get daylight, and the cast members were out cheering for us through EPCOT. We made the turn backstage that I know so well, and we just had two tenths of a mile to go.

When we reached the final stretch, there were tons of fans in the bleachers cheering, and we got a mother/daughter shout out from Carissa and Rudy. Carissa even asked if Bobby was in the bed haha. We crossed the finish line, hands in the air, we did it!

I was super proud of mom for doing the 5k and 10k back to back. We got our medals and I got my 10k finisher wristband for the glass slipper challenge, and grabbed our food before heading to the busses.

I really enjoy the 10k distance, and the medal was really cute. I think they could do so much more with the course, but other that that I had a really good time and think it’s great runDisney is including a “middle distance” for people who have done the 5k but aren’t ready for the half, or people like my mom who has done three halfs and still wants to runDisney, but not have to train as much. It’s a happy medium, and I hope they continue to offer it. We didn’t stop for pictures because the lines were pretty long, and mom just wanted to keep going, which is totally fine. We ran the first mile, then walked probably every half mile for a minute or so after that. (ALWAYS on the side and always after putting our hand up signaling we were about to stop!) Everything was well organized and ran smoothly as far as I am concerned, except for the long wait at the bus stop. I would definitely run this race again in the future!

QOTD: Do you like the 10k distance? Have you ever been yelled at on a race course?

If you are interested in other runDisney races check out rundisney.com

Comments

I’d love to see a course change for the 10k since it is so boring in the beginning. I had no crowd/people issues, but heard about alot of them. What has happened to all the happy Princesses? Is the race too big?

What a rude lady! You’re right, she probably had an panic attack for the rest of the race because people walk everywhere during Disney races. I’m glad you and your mom were still able to have a great race though!

At Princess we had just started, so you know it was wall to wall people. My SIL and I were jogging along with everyone else and this lady comes up right behind us, says “excuse me” really rudely and pushes between us. We were kind of in shock…but then started joking that she’d probably be miserable the whole race while we were going to have fun. All I can figure is that they are stressed out and not thinking about how rude they are. Or, maybe they are just rude people who believe they are special.

Congrats to you and your mom — so amazing she raced on back-to-back days.

Ugh. I’ve definitely been annoyed when people were walking on the left and I was trying to pass. BUT that’s before I knew runDisney’s rule that walkers had to go to a side — any side. And really to yell at someone? No! Especially when it wasn’t crowded at all. Sorry you had to deal with that.

In the crowded parts I made my mom walk behind me, I mean we were doing everything we could to be NOT in people’s way, so it just really blew me away when there was 50 feet of open road and we had just stepped out of the potty on the left. Boo for her not being very magical.

I’m pretty sure before the 10k and Half they were telling walkers to stay to the left or right and keep the MIDDLE clear. If that woman had yelled at me, I would have been upset the rest of the race too. Maybe she was just grumpy because she had to wake up so early. My biggest annoyance was during the half when three women were walking with their arms linked down the middle of a water station. I didn’t see anyone yelling at them!

I LOVED the 10K. It was so fun to run around World Showcase, and Epcot had the torches lit… Nice touch! Running around the boardwalk was a thril, too.

Regarding the rude runner, I am sorry you had to experience that. I run all of my races doing intervals, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. I tried to stay as close to the side as possible (difficult at times) and always looked behind me to make sure someone wasn’t right on my back when I started walking. It seemed to work out OK. Honestly, it was easier during the 1/2 marathon than the 10K, which seemed more congested to me.

Wow, how is someone that grumpy in Disney World?! Terribly rude anywhere, but especially in the happiest place on Earth! Never happened to me before but I would have been upset too, good for you for pushing it aside and enjoying the rest of your race. I was surely kicking myself for not registering for the GSC, but THERE’S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR!!

I’m still aggravated with that girl for doing that to you guys. Seriously. Disney races are crowded, no matter what. You guys were to the side of the road and not in the way. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people walking IN the middle of the road during a race, Princess included. I think she just woke up on the wrong side of the bed and I’m sorry she put a damper on what was supposed to be a fun experience. Congrats to you and your mom! I’m with you, I hope Disney continues with the 10K distance races!

Heather, It was fun meeting you at the meet up outside the race retreat. You are one of my blogging heroes, so I was so excited to meet you. That person who said that to you and your mom was downright rude. At the Expo on Thursday afternoon, I listened to Jeff Galloway speak about doing the intervals, and he said to the audience that walking was okay on the right OR the left, just pick a side, and leave the middle clear for runners to zoom by. He also told everyone about proper etiquette with raising the hand when walking was about to happen, not crowding the sides, etc. runDisney also said something similar about walking on either side before the race started too. So that person was flat out wrong, not to mention her lack of manners. The 10K was my first at WDW and it was fun – I especially loved running on the Boardwalk. Thought my husband the twins would be watching there (we were at the Dolphin) but they were snoozing instead!!! They hoped to watch me there for the Half, but we didn’t run by there. Oh well….

I’ve heard other stories about rude runners but c’mon people, it’s Disney! It’s all about having fun. I hope you didn’t let it affect you too much. I do like the 10k distance and I wish there were more 10k’s scheduled.

What a rude girl!!! The course was wide open it looks like! Some people are just angry inside and take it out on others! Glad you and your mom had fun despite that. I love the 10K distance and hope runDisney keeps it too!

I enjoyed the 10k, but wish they would do a little more with the first 3 miles to enhance it! I will admit I was frustrated a lot during the 10k and 1/2. My pace is slow, and I do intervals. I stay to the right. However there were times when I did not do intervals and wanted to straight run, and I found a lot of racers walking in the middle in congested areas. Obviously I have zero issues with walkers and/or walkers/runners but when I am doing walking and/or walking/running I stay to the right side.

WOW. Some people don’t know how to enjoy the runDisney magic. I am glad you were still able to enjoy the race as a whole.

That is awesome that your mom ran with you – y’all look so much alike! Elsa being on the course and running through ‘snow’ would definitely have been a race highlight for me. I hope they do that for other races (or even have Anna & Elsa for a character stop)!

That’s so odd! I was staying at the Boardwalk too and I didn’t notice an issue with the buses…but then again, I may very well have fallen asleep waiting for one and so didn’t realize how much time had gone by! lol
Also I noticed a lot more “mean” people this year on the race course. There was pushing and some runners were scowling at me when I tried to high 5 them as we approached the end of the half marathon…maybe there needs to be a Grumpy race so they can sign up for that!

Jeff Galloway tells people to walk on the right (and even announced it before the half) but when I was volunteering for marathon weekend I saw him walking on the left, so he doesn’t even follow his own rule! I tend to walk on the right but it’s more out of habit than anything. Either way, though- that reaction was ridiculous. I got run off the road (literally pushed off the road by someone running faster than I was) during the 10k as well…it was definitely bringing out an un-Princessy side of a lot of racers!

Typically, if I am running in the middle and need to walk, I pull to the right if I safety can, but will go left sometimes if it’s more clear, more walkers, etc. But on an empty road…this girl was a bit hyper about it lol. Also the event guides usually just say “stay to the side” but don’t say which. What is worse is when 5 people are walking across!

Ugh!! I’m so sorry someone had a bad day and tried to ruin yours as well! That’s no fun! Was that person dressed up as Grumpy?? I’m glad to hear the race went well for you and your mom! It sounded like a good time!

I love the 10k distance! I just finished my second 10k on Saturday! I’m not ready to try to tackle a half marathon. A 10k is the farthest I’ve ever run!

My family was at the Boardwalk too – I got lucky and managed to catch the first bus to the 10K but it was packed when I got down there at 3:30!!! I’m glad your family came down to the Boardwalk to see you on the course – our room was right there by the boardwalk and I was hoping my family would make it out on our balcony but, sigh, they didn’t 🙁 I still really enjoyed staying there and the fact that the race route went right by my room!

You and your mom were so cute in your matching outfits! Absolutely adorable! And as far as the rude girl is concerned, its really sad that there’s people in this world that feel the need to make people feel miserable just to boost themselves, especially when it looks like she yelled at you for absolutely no reason!

First of all, I LOVE your race recaps! A year ago January I set out with the goal of completing the Princess Half Marathon (my first ever half marathon) and your recaps were WONDERFUL help to me in my training and knowing what to expect. I’m happy to say that I accomplished my goal and completed the Princess Half this year!
Anyways, when I was running the Princess Half, I did run walk intervals. Thanks to your posts, I knew that you raise your hand and go off the beaten path to a side to let the runners go past. So I got to my walk interval and did just that. A woman came flying past me and yelled “Get out of the way, some of us are trying to RUN here!”. I was very upset by that for a few minutes before I decided I couldn’t let her ruin my race experience. Everyone else around me for the rest of the race was kind and encouraging, but it’s very hurtful when someone is so mean out there.

So sorry to hear you had to deal with such a rude individual on the course, that would have irritated me for the remainder of the race as well. It shocks me because the running community is usually so nice and understanding of everyone else around them. I really enjoyed the course, but I agree, I think they need to make it less boring during the beginning. I don’t know that I would do the Glass Slipper again, but I’m glad to have been part of the inaugural event, just to say I did it!
Congrats to you and your mom! 🙂

Good for you, getting your happy back on by the end. I’m sure this happens at other rD events too, but I have to admit that I read more stories about this sort of thing in Princess weekend recaps than in any others.

Maybe that’s just a coincidence, but it’s one of several reasons I’m doing the WDW instead. (More importantly, frigid northeast winters are just not conducive to good long runs in January, so I want to finish most of my long run training in December, lol!)

Hi! I am Heather Montgomery, formerly known as Running With Sass®, a 32 year old living in Tampa, Florida with my husband and 3.5 year old daughter. I’m just a regular girl who likes to run, travel, go to Disney World, and eat junk food.
Thank you for visiting my blog! Feel free to contact me, (or for PR inquiries or press trip invites) at [email protected]